Neck strap structure and auxiliary member thereof

ABSTRACT

An auxiliary member for a neck-hanging article is provided. The neck-hanging article has a strap body. The auxiliary member includes a first end and a second end. The first end is coupled to a contact part of the strap body. The second end is detachably coupled to an object loaded by a user, so that a stress exerted by the strap body is diverted from a neck of the user to the loaded object.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a nonprovisional application claiming benefitfrom a prior-filed provisional application bearing a Ser. No. 62/200,860and filed Aug. 4, 2015, the entity of which is incorporated herein forreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a neck strap structure and an auxiliarymember thereof, and more particularly to a neck strap structure forcarrying a camera and an auxiliary member thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the usage of a conventional camerastrap. As shown in FIG. 1, a camera body 10 is hung around a user's neckthrough a strap 11. However, the use of the strap 11 still has somedrawbacks. For example, a main body and a lens module of a single-lensreflex camera have a total weight up to 2 kilograms. If the single-lensreflex camera is hung around the user's neck for a long time, thesingle-lens reflex camera becomes a heavy burden on the user and theuser usually feels uncomfortable.

Therefore, there is a need to provide a novel neck strap structure inorder to overcome the above drawbacks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an auxiliary member and a neck strapstructure for alleviating the discomfort of carrying the neck-hangingarticle.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is providedan auxiliary member for a neck-hanging article with a strap body. Theauxiliary member includes a first end and a second end. The first end iscoupled to the strap body. The second end is detachably coupled to anobject loaded by a user, so that a stress exerted by the strap body isdiverted from a neck of the user to the loaded object.

In an embodiment, the loaded object has a hang ring or a handle, whereinthe second end of the auxiliary member is detachably coupled to the hangring or the handle.

In an embodiment, the first end of the auxiliary member has a firstcollar, and the first collar is movably coupled to a contact part of thestrap body.

In an embodiment, the first end of the auxiliary member has at least oneset of movable snap fasteners that constitute the first collar.

In an embodiment, the first end of the auxiliary member is fixed on thestrap body by a stitching means, a gluing means or a snap-fit means, orthe first end of the auxiliary member is integrally formed with thestrap body.

In an embodiment, the second end of the auxiliary member has a secondcollar, which is constituted by one or more sets of movable snapfasteners.

In an embodiment, the second end of the auxiliary member has a hook,wherein the hook is penetrated through a hang ring or a handle of theloaded object, or the hook is penetrated through a perforation of thehang ring or the handle of the loaded object.

In an embodiment, the second end of the auxiliary member has a bucklingelement or a clipping structure that is coupled to a movable snapfastener of the loaded object.

In an embodiment, the second end of the auxiliary member has a clippingstructure, and the clipping structure is coupled to a hang ring or ahandle of the loaded object.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a neck strap structure. The neck strap structure includes astrap body and an auxiliary member. The strap body has a contact part,wherein two ends of the strap body are fixed on a neck-hanging article.A first end of the auxiliary member is coupled to the contact part ofthe strap body, and a second end of the auxiliary member is coupled toan object loaded by a user, so that a stress exerted by the strap bodyis diverted from a neck of the user to the loaded object.

In an embodiment, the first end of the auxiliary member is fixed on thestrap body by a stitching means, a gluing means or a snap-fit means, orthe first end of the auxiliary member is integrally formed with thestrap body.

The above objects and advantages of the present invention will becomemore readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art afterreviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings,in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the usage of a conventional camerastrap;

FIG. 2A schematically illustrates the structure and the outer appearanceof an auxiliary member for a camera strap according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2B schematically illustrates the connection between the camerastrap and a loaded object through the auxiliary member;

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a strap structure with an auxiliarymember according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a strap structure with an auxiliarymember according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a strap structure with an auxiliarymember according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a strap structure with an auxiliarymember according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 7A˜7C schematically illustrate some other examples of the strapstructure with the auxiliary member according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention will now be described more specifically withreference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that thefollowing descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention arepresented herein for purpose of illustration and description only. It isnot intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise formdisclosed.

FIG. 2A schematically illustrates the structure and the outer appearanceof an auxiliary member for a camera strap in order to overcome thedrawbacks of the conventional technologies. As shown in FIG. 2A, a firstend 201 and a second end 202 of a strap body 20 are fixed on a camera29. The fixing structures are well known to those skilled in the art,and are not redundantly described herein. For alleviating the oppressionof the conventional strap on the neck, the camera strap is additionallyequipped with an auxiliary member 204. The auxiliary member 204 islocated at a contact part 203 of the strap body 20, wherein the contactpart 203 is in contact with the user's neck. A first end 2041 of theauxiliary member 204 is coupled to the contact part 203 of the strapbody 20. A second end 2042 of the auxiliary member 204 has a movablefastening element. The movable fastening element is coupled with anobject loaded by the user. Consequently, the stress originally appliedto the user's neck will be diverted to the loaded object. It is notedthat the width of the contact part 203 is not restricted. The width ofthe contact part 203 shown in the drawing is presented herein forpurpose of illustration and description only.

FIG. 2B schematically illustrates the connection between the camerastrap and a loaded object through the auxiliary member. For example, theloaded object is a double-shoulder backpack 28. When the user wears thedouble-shoulder backpack 28, the movable fastening element at the secondend 2042 of the auxiliary member 204 is coupled to a handle 280 of thedouble-shoulder backpack 28. Of course, the movable fastening element atthe second end 2042 of the auxiliary member 204 may be coupled to asimilar part (e.g., a hang ring or a hook) of the double-shoulderbackpack 28. Consequently, the stress originally exerted by the strapbody 20 will be diverted from the user's neck to the two shoulder strapsof the double-shoulder backpack 28 and the contact points between thestrap body 20 and the shoulders of the user. In such way, the discomfortof carrying the camera strap can be effectively alleviated. That is, thestrap structure of the present invention is advantageous over theconventional strap structure. In this embodiment, the loaded object is adouble-shoulder backpack 28. In some other embodiments, the loadedobject includes another type of backpack, for example a single-shoulderbackpack.

The present invention provides a strap structure with an auxiliarymember. Hereinafter, some examples of the strap structure with theauxiliary member will be illustrated in more details.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a strap structure with an auxiliarymember according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Asshown in FIG. 3, a first end of the auxiliary member 3 has a firstcollar 30. The detailed structure of the first collar 30 may also bereferred to the collar as shown in FIG. 7A. The first collar 30 allowsthe strap body 20 to pass through. Consequently, the auxiliary member 3can be sheathed around the strap body 20 and slid along the strap body20 without being detached from the strap body 20. Moreover, in case thatthe auxiliary member 3 is in a non-usage state, the auxiliary member 3can be slid to any position where the user is not adversely affected.For example, the auxiliary member 3 may be moved to the position nearthe junction between the strap body 20 and the camera 29. A second endof the auxiliary member 3 has a second collar 32, which is constitutedby one or more sets of movable snap fasteners 31. The second collar 32acts as the above-mentioned movable fastening element. That is, thesecond collar 32 is coupled to the handle 280 of the double-shoulderbackpack 28. Consequently, the stress originally applied to the user'sneck will be diverted to the loaded object. Optionally, a pocket-typeaccommodation space 300 is formed on the first collar 30. Thepocket-type accommodation space 300 is used for accommodating a smallobject such as memory card. Moreover, a protective buckling element 301is further located at the mouth part of the pocket-type accommodationspace 300 in order to prevent the small object from falling out of thepocket-type accommodation space 300 intentionally.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a strap structure with an auxiliarymember according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Asshown in FIG. 4, a first end of the auxiliary member 4 is directly fixedon the strap body 20 and not slidable. For example, the first end of theauxiliary member 4 is directly fixed on the strap body 20 by a stitchingmeans, a gluing means or a snap-fit means, or the first end of theauxiliary member 4 is integrally formed with the strap body 20.Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4, the first end of the auxiliary member 4 isfixed on the strap body 20 through one or more sets of movable snapfasteners 40. Similarly, a second end of the auxiliary member 4 has asecond collar 42, which is constituted by one or more sets of movablesnap fasteners 41. The second collar 42 acts as the above-mentionedmovable fastening element. That is, the second collar 42 is coupled tothe handle 280 of the double-shoulder backpack 28. Consequently, thestress originally applied to the user's neck will be diverted to theloaded object.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a strap structure with an auxiliarymember according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment, the movable fastening element is a hook 50 or any otherappropriate element. Moreover, the handle (or a hang ring) 280 has astructure mating with the hook 50. As shown in FIG. 5, the handle (orthe hang ring) 280 has a perforation 289. After the hook 50 ispenetrated through the perforation 289, the second end of the auxiliarymember 4 is coupled with the handle (or the hang ring) 280.

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a strap structure with an auxiliarymember according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Inthis embodiment, the handle (or the hang ring) 280 has a movable snapfastener 288, and the second end of the auxiliary member 4 has abuckling element 60. Due to the engagement between the movable snapfastener 288 and the buckling element 60, the second end of theauxiliary member 4 is coupled with the handle (or the hang ring) 280.

FIGS. 7A˜7C schematically illustrate some other examples of the strapstructure with the auxiliary member according to the present invention.As shown in FIG. 7A, a first end 71 of the auxiliary member 7 is acollar, which is coupled to and sheathed around the strap body 20. Asecond end 72 of the auxiliary member 7 is a movable collar, which isdetachably coupled the handle (or the hang ring) 280 through one or moresets of movable snap fasteners 720. In comparison with FIG. 7A, thesecond end 72 of the auxiliary member 7 is a curvy hooking structure forholding the handle (or the hang ring) 280. Since the second end 72 ofthe auxiliary member 7 is pulled down by the weight of the backpack 28and the strap body 20 is also pulled down by the weight of the camera,the backpack 28 and the camera can be easily connected with each otheror easily detached with each other. In the embodiment of FIG. 7C, thesecond end 72 of the auxiliary member 7 is an elastic clipping structurethat can clamp the handle (or the hang ring) 280 in a fast and simplemanner.

From the above descriptions, the present invention provides an auxiliarymember. The auxiliary member can be widely applied to a neck-hangingarticle such as a camera or a telescope. By the auxiliary member of thepresent invention, the discomfort of carrying the neck-hanging articlecan be effectively alleviated. Consequently, the auxiliary member of thepresent invention is industrially applicable.

While the invention has been described in terms of what is presentlyconsidered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is tobe understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosedembodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover variousmodifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadestinterpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similarstructures.

What is claimed is:
 1. An auxiliary member for a neck-hanging articlewith a strap body, the auxiliary member comprising: a first end coupledto the strap body; and a second end detachably coupled to an objectloaded by a user, so that a stress exerted by the strap body is divertedfrom a neck of the user to the loaded object.
 2. The auxiliary memberaccording to claim 1, wherein the loaded object has a hang ring or ahandle, wherein the second end of the auxiliary member is detachablycoupled to the hang ring or the handle.
 3. The auxiliary memberaccording to claim 1, wherein the first end of the auxiliary member hasa first collar, and the first collar is movably coupled to a contactpart of the strap body.
 4. The auxiliary member according to claim 3,wherein the first end of the auxiliary member has at least one set ofmovable snap fasteners that constitute the first collar.
 5. Theauxiliary member according to claim 1, wherein the first end of theauxiliary member is fixed on the strap body by a stitching means, agluing means or a snap-fit means, or the first end of the auxiliarymember is integrally formed with the strap body.
 6. The auxiliary memberaccording to claim 1, wherein the second end of the auxiliary member hasa second collar, which is constituted by one or more sets of movablesnap fasteners.
 7. The auxiliary member according to claim 1, whereinthe second end of the auxiliary member has a hook, wherein the hook ispenetrated through a hang ring or a handle of the loaded object, or thehook is penetrated through a perforation of the hang ring or the handleof the loaded object.
 8. The auxiliary member according to claim 1,wherein the second end of the auxiliary member has a buckling element ora clipping structure that is coupled to a movable snap fastener of theloaded object.
 9. The auxiliary member according to claim 1, wherein thesecond end of the auxiliary member has a clipping structure, and theclipping structure is coupled to a hang ring or a handle of the loadedobject.
 10. A neck strap structure, comprising: a strap body having acontact part, wherein two ends of the strap body are fixed on aneck-hanging article; and an auxiliary member, wherein a first end ofthe auxiliary member is coupled to the contact part of the strap body,and a second end of the auxiliary member is coupled to an object loadedby a user, so that a stress exerted by the strap body is diverted from aneck of the user to the loaded object.
 11. The neck strap structureaccording to claim 10, wherein the first end of the auxiliary member isfixed on the strap body by a stitching means, a gluing means or asnap-fit means, or the first end of the auxiliary member is integrallyformed with the strap body.